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Contrary to popular belief, it’s actually not that easy to travel the world and make music as a DJ and producer, let alone as a team trying to balance egos.

Cash and Cash and Tritonal are two electronic music groups that have pretty much conquered the world by combining soaring hooks with a tasteful sprinkling of bass throughout their songs. While doing this, Tritonal has been busy maintaining a Sirius XM radio show while Cash Cash has co-written hits for some of pop music’s biggest artists.

In between their busy tour schedules, Dave Reed and Chad Cisneros of Tritonal, and JP Makhlouf of Cash Cash freed up some time to answer questions about what it's really like to be a DJ.

This has been yet another huge year for you Cash Cash. You've played some huge festivals, had some big remixes released on places like Rolling Stone andyou've had Kardashians come out during your shows. Are you at the point now where the DJ grind has desensitized you to these huge moments or do you still enjoy every show like it’s the first one you've played?

Makhlouf: Every so often things happen that really put our whole journey into perspective. Doing a song with John Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls was definitely one of those moments that made us sit back and reflect on things - given how much we were influenced by them. Hearing our music being played by other DJs and on the radio is another one of those things that never gets old and makes us remember how hard we worked for this every time it happens. As far as shows go, we treat every show as if it’s our last show and give it our all.

Tritonal has developed a pretty devoted fan base throughout the years with fans now calling themselves "Tritonians." What has been the craziest Tritonian encounter you have experienced?

Cisneros: It actually may have been this weekend, when one Tritonian showed up with Tritonal tattoos on the inside of both arms. Dedication on another level!

What is the difference between performing a DJ set at a festival or mixing on your radio show, Tritonia? Which one do you prefer and why?

Reed: Great question! They actually both work hand in hand - being that we have a radio show each week, we're able to use it as a filter for what tunes we really love to play during our live performances. Honestly, there are two sides to this. Performing live is always more fun, energetic and we get the chance to see our fans in person enjoying the set. On the other hand, putting together a radio show can hit a wider market depending on where it's synced. There are moments where you can always pull a track out or add a track in to make the show spotless.

Dallas was massive last night!! @tritonal @partyfavormusic #untouchabletour

A photo posted by Cash Cash (@cashcashmusic) on

Are you working on any new music? Will it be a continuation of the sound fans have to come know or will you be experimenting with new sounds or genres?

Cisneros : Yes, we've actually finished about 20 new songs, still figuring out which ones will be singles. Always trying new stuff, new collaborations and new sounds. That said, there's lots of awesome new music that sounds very Tritonal.

Cash Cash started off as band playing on Warped Tour and are now a festival staple at EDM shows and festivals. What is it like transcending two different scenes of music within such a short span of time and was this intentional or just a natural progression?

Makhlouf: We were always electronic which is what made the transition really seamless. We’ve been producing, recording, mixing and mastering all our own music since we first started out, so the studio was a very familiar place to us. On top of that, we’ve been remixing outside artists since we began. Over time, our remixing styles became more apparent in our original music. That's how the real transition happened. In 2013, we produced and co-wrote Krewella’s second single “Live For The Night,” which opened up our sonic library even more. Then we started linking up with outside features such as Bebe Rexha, John Rzeznik, Busta Rhymes, Neon Hitch, etc. which pretty much made the sky the limit for us as far as genre and style goes.

What's the next thing fans can expect from Cash Cash?

Makhlouf: We’re finishing our full length album as we speak. It’s about 98 percent done. Making it over the last couple years has been such an amazing process, and we can’t wait for it to come out. It contains some really cool unique features and some of the best songs I think we’ve ever written as a group. We’re extremely proud of it.

Cash Cash and Tritonal are performing Thursday, Sept. 24 at Livewire in Scottsdale. For more information and tickets, click here.


Reach the arts editor at jhgolds2@asu.edu or follow @misterjacobgold on Twitter.

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